RED WINGED BLACKBIRD Opens in March at the Live Oak Theater

Alyosha Zim's new play Red Winged Blackbird opens on March 4 (Preview March 3) running through March 20 in the newly renovated Live Oak Theater 1301 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley. Red Winged Blackbird is a story of transcendence, of rising above the frustrations of family struggles, inherited disease, and dogmatic beliefs, to do what's needed in the name of love.

Directed by Nancy Carlin the cast of Red Winged Blackbird features Aaron Wilton* (Alyosha), Adam Magill* (Joshua), Julian Lopez-Morilles* (Sidney), Danielle Levin* (Eva), Livia Gomes Demarchi* (Padma) and Ogie Zulueta* (Rinpoche)

*AEA. Performances are Thur., Fri. & Sat. 7:30 pm Sun. 2 pm

Tickets $20 https://www.eventbrite.com/e/red-winged-blackbird-tickets-243788496957

Two free Zoom Q and A's are available with or without ticket purchase. Playwright Alyosha Zim and Director Nancy Carlin will moderate both.

March 9 Wed.- 7:30pm Dr Michael Geschwind and 2 individuals profoundly affected by Huntington's Disease in their families

March 16 Wed- 7:30pm John A Powell UCB, Buddhist teacher Anouk Shambrook, & Rabbi Terry Bard

Set in 1960s New York and 1980s Colorado Rockies, Red Winged Blackbird, a powerful new play by Alyosha Zim is about brothers and lovers, Judaism and Buddhism, spiritual quests and identity. This is a story of transcendence - of rising above strongly held beliefs, and the struggle to care for seriously ill loved ones - to do what's needed in the name of love. Red Winged Blackbird dances you to the end of love. The production's Choreography is by Bridgette Loriaux, Scenic design by Nina Ball, Lighting by Kurt Landisman, Sound by Cliff Caruthers, Costumes by Valera Coble, and Props by Mirin Scassellati.

Two free Zoom Q and A's are available with or without ticket purchase. Playwright Alyosha Zim and Director Nancy Carlin will moderate both.

March 9 th at 7:30pm Dr Michael Geschwind and 2 individuals profoundly affected by Huntington's Disease in their families. Dr Michael Geschwind, professor of neurology at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center, specializing in neurodegenerative disorders will join with Therse Crutcher-Marin and Dawn Green, both of whom have been profoundly affected by Huntington's Disease in their families.

March 16 th at 7:30pm John A Powell UCB, Buddhist teacher Anouk Shambrook, & Rabbi Terry Bard

John A Powell, Director of the UC Berkeley Othering & Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley will address the ways in which certain diseases and disabilities turn those afflicted into "others" Buddhist teacher Anouk Shambrook, and Rabbi Terry Bard will discuss issues of Buddhism and Judaism that appear in the play.

Playwright Alyosha Zim has had a psychiatric outpatient practice in Berkeley for 45 years. Although writing for decades, "Red Winged Blackbird," is his first produced play. "I was always surrounded by really good writers, friends and family, and it took time to find the confidence to put it in front of an audience." The flesh and bones of the play, the struggle to deal with the 50/50 chance he inherited Huntington's Disease-with dementia, and profound mood and movement disorder-- was instrumental in his choosing to become a doctor and psychotherapist. Writing a play is a special challenge, but he's always embraced challenges-for example, in the 1970's he ran a group for patients, all of whom had attempted suicide; he was also Director of Mental Health and the only psychiatrist for Colusa, a rural county near Sacramento, seeing patients from 3 to 93 and rebuilding a failed mental health system; and in the 1980's he was Director of Adult Inpatient Services for 5 years at Mt Zion Hospital in San Francisco. "Inpatient work is intense and demanding, but it's a unique opportunity to treat the entire spectrum of mental illness. I worked hard to keep people out of the hospital, but if that wasn't possible, I tried to make the hospital experience humane and restorative." He continues to practice part-time while working on his next play. "The feelings and ideas from doing therapy flow into my writing and vice-versa. It's a profound synergy that I love.

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